


Many Times, Many Ways (Preview)

by 2amEuphoria



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff that puts the Folgers commercial to shame, Fluff without plot p much..., I mean pure fluff you buy at the store and put in your sanwich, Is this only a New England thing? Oh well, It's fluff... Just. Fluff., Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-17 23:29:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21951430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2amEuphoria/pseuds/2amEuphoria
Summary: “That was iconic. Could’ve been a skit on Saturday Night Live.”Holiday future Brightwell fic, just little moments from their Christmas Eve.PREVIEW version. Entire fic will be uploaded by the end of 12/25!
Relationships: Malcolm Bright/Dani Powell
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	Many Times, Many Ways (Preview)

**Author's Note:**

> _((Happy holidays, all! I promised you a Brightwell holiday fic (requested by an Anon as well, a while back). I’m nearly finished with it but not totally there, so to keep you all satiated, I’ve decided to upload part of it here now, and then I’ll upload the entire fic tomorrow night. Enjoy!))_
> 
> I saw this tweet the other night: https://twitter.com/cottoncandaddy/status/1208111133216755712?s=20  
> and, well, I couldn’t help myself. An anon also requested a holiday Brightwell fic so, here you go!
> 
> Also want to note that while you guys have likely met Alea already, you probably don’t know about AFIS, their rescue dog (“AFIS” stands for “automated fingerprint identification system”-they work in law enforcement and are total nerds, mkay)! She’s a white and brindle greyhound. You can learn more about her on my tumblr sideblog, @brightandwell. And yes, she’s definitely inspired by Jenna Marbles’ new dog Bunny, how’d you know??

“Your family’s the only family I know that requests bringing alcohol instead of desert to the annual Christmas party,” Dani teased.

“We pride ourselves on originality, what can I say?” Malcolm smiled as he pulled a different bottle of rum off a shelf and studied it. He knew his mother would judge his selections, and while he normally couldn’t care less, he didn’t feel like handling another lecture on how “the year written on the bottle _matters,_ darling” this year. Not with a toddler and a greyhound to watch out for Between Alea, who was now three (“that in itself is a hazard in your mother’s home,” Dani had said) and AFIS, whose tail could bring down a variety of expensive sculptures and vases, he know they’d have no extra energy to spare listening to his mother’s griping. 

It was inevitable, though, because they chose to go to the store on Christmas Eve (the last possible day before the family dinner, of course), and now the alcohol selection was less than ideal. So instead of trying to find wine from 2004, Malcolm was consulting Dani’s knowledge of cocktails from when she was a bartender to see what they could mix up well enough to appease Jessica Whitly’s refined palate. 

Alea was less than pleased to have to tag along with them on their errands, and he couldn’t blame her. He hated the crowds and noise and commotion as much as she did; it was sensory overload at full throttle for both of them. So when she twisted in Dani’s arms and begged to be put down, Dani didn’t object, and her and Malcolm used the shopping cart and their legs to make a makeshift “corral” to keep Alea from escaping. It seemed fool-proof in their eyes; they’d seen plenty of other parents do it before, why couldn’t they do the same?

Alea initially seemed content sitting on the floor playing with the zipper on her jacket, but after 5 minutes passed when her parents weren’t giving her their full attention, she decided to take matters into her own hands. The white and red stripes on a bottle at the bottom shelf caught her eye, and her mother’s legs had shifted, creating an opening. 

“I know she thinks that Tito’s is overrated,” Dani murmured, rolling her eyes, “but if we mix it well enough maybe she- 

“-Oops. Detective Powell, we have a runner.”

She turned just in time to see their toddler dashing down the aisle, struggling to hold the full-sized bottle of peppermint vodka with both hands.

“Alea! _Wait wait wait,_ ” Dani flew after her, bent over, arms outstretched, dodging carts and strange stares. Whether it was shock or amusement Malcolm remained frozen where he was, erupting with laughter.

He watched as Dani finally grabbed Alea at the end of the aisle, ending their daughter’s escapades with a quick “ _hi!_ Not a choice, sweetheart; let me see that.” With the bottle under one arm and Alea in the other she made her way, red-faced, back to Malcolm, shaking her head when she saw that he was _still_ wheezing from how hard he was laughing.

“Daddy, you’re fired,” Dani’s voice feigned authority, though it was easy to spot the sarcasm underneath.

“I- I’m sorry, it’s just... Oh, you should’ve seen what you too looked like. It was straight out of a skit from _Saturday Night Live._ ” He held his side and leaned against the cart as he struggled to bring his breathing back to normal.

“S’funny, Daddy,” Alea giggled. Dani shook her head at both of them.

“You’re a riot, kiddo. Make sure you tell Nana about this tomorrow, okay?”

“Oh yes, tell Nana _all_ about how you inherited her taste in beverages,” Dani gave him a pointed look as she set Alea into the shopping cart. Malcolm started chuckling again.

“Wha, Momma?”

“Nothing, baby. Please don’t tell Nana about this.”

____________

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed this so far: the rest will be uploaded when I return from my family's annual Christmas party tomorrow night!
> 
> Whatever you're doing, whatever you're celebrating (or not-that's fine too!), I hope you're all happy and safe during this time of year. <3
> 
> Let me know what you think of the preview below! I can't wait to hear what you'll all think of the end, too :]


End file.
